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Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Pfaadt is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers records the second-highest Box-Toppers game score for a batter in the 30 years of Box-Toppers player tracking. He did it on the day he became the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season.
Read MoreAdolis Garcia of the Rangers is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, recording what is possibly the fifth-highest Box-Toppers game score by a batter since tracking began in 1995.
Also Saturday, Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole regains first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan rises to fifth place in player rankings.
Read MoreBrewers pitcher Corbin Barnes is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Plus, Adam Duvall of the Braves earns National League Batter of the Day honors Wednesday with a Box-Toppers game score of +13.0, which seems to be the fifth-highest game score for a batter earning Player of the Game honors in Box-Toppers tracking history, which began in 1995.
Read MoreAlex Rodriguez has the most Box-Toppers points of any third baseman since tracking began in 1995.
Rodriguez, who played from 1994 to 2016 for the Yankees, Mariners and Rangers, earned 187.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 10th among all players since 1995 and second among all batters. Rodriguez is 38.0 Box-Toppers points ahead of Chipper Jones, who ranks second among third basemen on the “all-time” career Box-Toppers points list with 149.0.
Read MoreJeff Kent has a dominating lead in Box-Toppers points among second basemen since tracking began in 1995.
Kent, who played from 1992 to 2008 primarily for the Giants, Dodgers, Mets, Astros and Blue Jays, earned 109.7 Box-Toppers points from 1995 to the end of his career—that’s 30.3 more points than the second-place second baseman since 1995, Robinson Cano of the Mariners (79.4).
Read MoreAlbert Pujols has the chance in 2020 to break the record for most consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points.
If Pujols of the Angels earns Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors once in 2020, he will have earned Box-Toppers points for 20 straight seasons (2001-2020). Pujols is currently tied for the longest streak at 19 seasons with three other players—CC Sabathia, Jason Giambi and Carlos Beltran.
Read MoreIndians pitcher Corey Kluber had the biggest decline in Box-Toppers points from 2018 to 2019.
Kluber, who earned 21.7 Box-Toppers points in 2018 (fourth among all players), earned no points in 2019. His decline of 21.7 points was ahead of Rays pitcher Blake Snell, whose 10.0 points in 2019 represented a 17.2-point drop from the 27.2 points he earned to lead all players in 2018.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to 10th place in season player rankings.
Ryu struck out nine over eight scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 6-0 win over the Nationals.
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The New York Yankees are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2019 preseason rankings, rising from second place at the end of the 2018 season.
The 2018 World Series-champion Boston Red Sox fall from first at the end of last season to second place in the 2019 preseason rankings.
Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Arizona Diamondbacks had the biggest decline.
Read MoreAbout half of the top batters by position as measured by Box-Toppers points are among Silver Slugger Award winners announced Thursday.
The awards are given to the top batter in each position in both leagues. But as measured by Box-Toppers points, only seven (maybe eight) of the 17 announced winners would have been the same.
Read MoreThe Box-Toppers All-Star teams for the 2018 regular season are led by overall Box-Toppers points leader, Rays pitcher Blake Snell.
The American League and National League All-Star teams are composed of the players with the highest Box-Toppers point totals by position in each league. In addition to the batters—eight in the NL and nine (including the designated hitter) in the AL—are the top four starting pitchers in each league and the top closing pitcher.
Read MoreCubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Rays pitcher Blake Snell maintains his fourth-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreMatt Carpenter of the Cardinals is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for games played Friday, July 20.
Carpenter hit three homers, two doubles and went 5-for-5, scoring four time and driving in seven runs, in the 18-5 win over the Cubs. Carpenter’s Box-Toppers of +11.0 Friday is the second highest of the season, behind only the +13.0 game score recorded July 7 by Mark Reynolds of the Nationals.
Read MoreMark Reynolds of the Nationals is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, recording the highest Box-Toppers game score for a batter this season.
Also Saturday, Rays pitcher Blake Snell rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreCardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, Twins pitcher Jose Berrios maintains his fifth-place ranking in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors. Plus, Phillies pitcher Nick Pivetta rises to sixth place in player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreBrewers pitcher Freddy Peralta is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, making his Major League debut.
Peralta struck out 13 over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks, in the 7-3 win over the Rockies.
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The Cleveland Indians are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2018 preseason rankings, the same position where they finished the 2017 season.
The Nationals top NL teams and the World Series-champion Astros fall to 8th.
Meanwhile, the New York Mets made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Tampa Bay Rays and the Kansas City Royals had the biggest declines.
Read MoreIndians pitcher Corey Kluber is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth place in season player rankings.
Also Sunday, 2017 Box-Toppers points leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, is headed to the 10-day disabled list after pitching only two innings in his start against the Braves.
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Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to become the active leader in career Box-Toppers points.
Kershaw struck out eight over seven innings, allowing two runs (one earned) and two hits, in the 14-3 win over the Padres.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | retired | 278.8 |
| 2 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | retired | 244.8 |
| 3 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 4 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | released | 187.0 |
| 5 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 185.7 |
| 6 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 185.0 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 182.3 |
| 8 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 9 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 168.7 |
| 10 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 11 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 12 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 13 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 14 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 15 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 156.1 |
| 16 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 17 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 18 | Greg Maddux | pi sp | retired | 151.7 |
| 19 | Chipper Jones | 3b | retired | 149.0 |
| 20 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | atl nl | 148.5 |
Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 185.7 for his career, passing Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (185.0 points) to lead all active players in career Box-Toppers points. Kershaw now ranks fifth among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when tracking began, trailing fourth place player Alex Rodriguez (187.0 points) by just 1.3.
Sabathia became the active leader in career Box-Toppers points on Aug. 13, 2016, when Alex Rodriguez, the then-active leader, was released by the Yankees. Kershaw’s rise past Sabathia is the first time a player has passed another player for the career points lead among active players (without a release or retirement) since April 2, 2011, when Rodriguez (168.6 points) passed then-active leader Manny Ramirez (167.2)—though Ramirez retired several days later.
Kershaw also assumes first place in 2017 season player rankings after two days of the season with his 2.0 Box-Toppers points. While he is tied with Sunday’s Player of the Day, Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez (2.0 points), Kershaw holds the tiebreaker because he had more 2016 points—24.4 vs. 12.4. Kershaw led players three times in 2016, including from May 7 to Aug. 24. He has been Box-Toppers Player of the Year, leading all players in Box-Toppers points, three times—in 2011 (26.1 points), 2013 (21.7) and 2014 (31.5).
Kershaw has now also earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for 10 straight seasons. Kershaw earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2008 with the Dodgers. His best season was 2014 with 31.5 points, when he led all players. He has six straight seasons (through 2016) with 20.0 or more points and eight straight seasons (through 2016) with 10.0 or more points.
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits, two walks and striking out four, in the 3-0 win over the Mariners.
National League Batter of the Day—Mark Reynolds of the Rockies homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 7-5 win over the Brewers.
Reynolds has now earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers points 2007 with the Diamondbacks and has 52.9 career points, fifth among active NL first basemen. His best year was 2011 with the Orioles, when he had 9.5 points, fifth among AL batters.
American League Batter of the Day—Khris Davis of the Athletics homered twice and went 3-for-4, in the 4-2 win over the Angels.
Streaks—In addition to Kershaw and Reynolds, two other players Monday extended streaks of 10 or more straight seasons earning Box-Toppers points:
Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Keuchel earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Reynolds and Davis each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
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Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 4/3 | Score | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | LAD 14, SD 3 | Clayton Kershaw (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | |
| 8.0 | `NYM 6, ATL 0 | Noah Syndergaard | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| AL | 7.0 | HOU 3, SEA 0 | Dallas Keuchel (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
| BAT | 4.0 | COL 7, MIL 5 | Mark Reynolds, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | MIN 7, KC 1 | Ervin Santana (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | OAK 4, LAA 2 | Khris Davis, LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | WSH 4, MIA 2 | Adam Lind, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CLE 8, TEX 5 | Andrew Miller (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | BOS 5, PIT 3 | Craig Kimbrel (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.2 | `BAL 3, TOR 2 (F/11) | Mychal Givens (BS,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | PHI 4, CIN 3 | Freddy Galvis, SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 | 26.4 | 126.1 | 185.7 | -22.4 |
| Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 1.7 | 8.7 | 44.5 | 44.5 | -5.3 |
| Davis, Khris 3242 | lf | oak al | 1.5 | 8.2 | 18.2 | 18.2 | -5.2 |
| Reynolds, Mark 2297 | 1b | col nl | 1.5 | 5.5 | 20.2 | 52.9 | -2.5 |
| Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 1.0 | 17.7 | 28.1 | 28.1 | -15.7 |
| Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 1.0 | 9.0 | 53.7 | 59.7 | -7.0 |
| Miller, Andrew 2436 | pi mr cp | cle al | 1.0 | 9.0 | 16.0 | 24.0 | -7.0 |
| Lind, Adam 2238 | 1b ph | dc nl | 1.0 | 6.4 | 25.4 | 60.5 | -4.4 |
| Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 1.0 | 5.0 | 37.8 | 98.3 | -3.0 |
| Galvis, Freddy 3202 | ss | phi nl | 1.0 | 5.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | -3.0 |
| Givens, Mychal 3599 | pi mr | bal al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | -1.0 |
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Monday’s Player of the Day, extending his overwhelming dominance in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 11.7 |
| 3 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.0 |
| 5 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 10.0 |
| 6 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 10.0 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 9.7 |
| 8 | Lackey, John 1640 | pi sp | chi nl | 9.4 |
| 9 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 9.0 |
| 10 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 8.8 |
Kershaw struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run, six hits and no walks, in the 4-1 win over the Nationals.
Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.0 for the season. It is the sixth straight season Kershaw has had 20 or more Box-Toppers points. He now has twice as many Box-Toppers points this season than all but two players—Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez (11.7) and Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (10.7).
Kershaw’s 20.0 Box-Toppers points on June 20, less than halfway into the season, would have put him in eighth place among all players in 2015—at the end of the season.
Kershaw seems to be on track to earn more than 40.0 Box-Toppers points this season. Randy Johnson holds the record for most Box-Toppers points in a single season (since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began) with 33.5. Johnson did it twice—in 2000 and 2002 with the Diamondbacks.
At this point in the 2000 season, Johnson had 20.7 Box-Toppers points, meaning Kershaw is slightly behind his pace. But at this point in the 2002 season, Johnson had only 11.7 points, putting Kershaw well ahead of that pace.
In Kershaw’s best season, 2014, he had 31.5 Box-Toppers points, tied for the fourth-best single season in Box-Toppers history (since 1995). And at this point in the 2014 season, Kershaw had only 10.7 Box-Toppers points.
Kershaw also now has 179.3 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of sixth place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails fifth-place player, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (182.0). (See homepage for updated rankings of top 20 players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995.)
Kershaw is now 99.5 Box-Toppers points behind “all-time” leader Johnson’s career mark of 278.8 Box-Toppers points. Since the start of the 2013 season—a span of three and a half seasons—Kershaw has earned 98.9 points, meaning at his current torrid pace, Kershaw could catch Johnson’s career points mark by the end of the 2019 season, when he will be 31 years old.
(It should be noted that Johnson began his career in 1988, before Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. If his entire career were tracked, Johnson would likely have many more Box-Toppers points. Rough Box-Toppers projections puts his estimated career total at 380—more than 100 more than his total from 1995 to 2009.)
American League Player of the Day—Carlos Correa of the Astros hit a two-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 10-7 win over the Angels.
National League Batter of the Day—Mark Reynolds of the Rockies hit two solo home runs, going 2-for-3, in the 5-3 win over the Marlins.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter Carlos Correa.
Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Correa earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Reynolds earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 6/20 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 7.0 | LAD 4/DC 1 | Clayton Kershaw (W,11-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | |
| 4.2 | PIT 1/SF 0 | Jeff Locke (W,6-5) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| AL | 4.0 | HOU 10/LAA 7 | Carlos Correa, SS | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | CLE 7/TB 4 | Bryan Shaw (W,1-3) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.2 | ARI 3/PHI 1 | Shelby Miller (W,2-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 3.2 | `CHW 3/BOS 1 | Miguel Gonzalez | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | COL 5/MIA 3 | Mark Reynolds, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | DET 8/SEA 7 | Justin Upton, LF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.2 | STL 3/CHC 2 | Jaime Garcia (W,5-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 0.0 | TEX 4/BAL 3 | Elvis Andrus, SS | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 | 45.7 | 145.8 | 179.3 | -5.7 |
| Correa, Carlos 3506 | ss | hou al | 5.2 | 12.4 | 12.4 | 12.4 | -2.0 |
| Garcia, Jaime 2508 | pi sp | stl nl | 5.0 | 14.4 | 32.1 | 40.8 | -4.4 |
| Locke, Jeff 3133 | pi sp | pit nl | 3.7 | 9.7 | 21.1 | 21.1 | -2.3 |
| Andrus, Elvis 2582 | ss | tex al | 3.7 | 3.7 | 11.2 | 14.2 | 3.7 |
| Upton, Justin 2411 | lf | det al | 3.0 | 12.0 | 38.9 | 47.4 | -6.0 |
| Reynolds, Mark 2297 | 1b | col nl | 3.0 | 7.0 | 27.2 | 50.4 | -1.0 |
| Shaw, Bryan 2995 | pi mr | cle al | 3.0 | 4.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 2.0 |
| Gonzalez, Miguel 3062 | pi sp | chi al | 2.7 | 9.4 | 31.5 | 31.5 | -4.0 |
| Miller, Shelby 3134 | pi sp | ari nl | 1.0 | 11.0 | 37.1 | 37.1 | -9.0 |
Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.